Francophone African Literature
Francophone African literature is the body of African writing in French, shaped above all by the negritude movement and the experience of French colonialism.
Definition
African literature written in French, defined especially by the negritude movement and the literature of colonial and postcolonial experience.
Scope
This topic covers African literature written in French, from West Africa, Central Africa, and the Maghreb. It centers on the negritude movement of Senghor, Cesaire, and Damas, the postcolonial novel and its critique of both colonialism and postcolonial states, and contemporary francophone African and diasporic writing. It treats the politics of writing in French, the affirmation of black cultural identity, and the relationship to the wider French-speaking world.
Core questions
- What was the negritude movement and why was it significant?
- How did francophone African writers respond to colonialism and its aftermath?
- How does writing in French shape African literary identity?
- How has francophone African literature developed in the postcolonial period?
Key concepts
- negritude
- assimilation and its critique
- the postcolonial novel
- black cultural identity
- the francophone world
Key theories
- Negritude
- Senghor, Cesaire, and Damas developed negritude as an affirmation of black identity and African cultural values in French verse, countering colonial assimilation.
History
Francophone African literature emerged through the negritude movement of the 1930s and 1940s, in which Senghor, Cesaire, and Damas affirmed black identity in French. After independence, novelists such as Kane, Ousmane, and Ba developed a literature that critiqued colonialism and the failures of postcolonial states, and the tradition continues in contemporary African and diasporic writing.
Debates
- The value and limits of negritude
- Critics debate whether negritude was a liberating affirmation of black identity or an essentializing response that accepted colonial categories.
Key figures
- Leopold Sedar Senghor
- Aime Cesaire
- Cheikh Hamidou Kane
- Mariama Ba
- Abiola Irele
Related topics
Seminal works
- cesaire1939
- kane1961
- irele2001
Frequently asked questions
- What is negritude?
- Negritude was a literary and intellectual movement among francophone black writers affirming African and black cultural identity and values, founded by Senghor, Cesaire, and Damas.
- Where is francophone African literature written?
- Mainly in former French colonies of West and Central Africa and the Maghreb, as well as among African diasporic writers in France.